Fujifilm Announces the X-T30 Camera, 16mm f/2.8 Lens, and Firmware 4.1 for the X-T3

Fujifilm Announces the X-T30 Camera, 16mm f/2.8 Lens, and Firmware 4.1 for the X-T3

Fuji has announced a long-awaited sequel to their best-selling camera and a new go-to walkaround lens for the size and budget conscious. The X-T30 and the 16mm f/2.8 are a match made in heaven.

Fujifilm has a lot of different models for their cameras, and the X-T30 is effectively an X-T3 but cheaper, smaller, and without weather sealing. You can see the specs below are almost identical to the X-T3 making this a darn good deal for anyone.

  • 26.1-megapixel APS-C X-Trans BSI CMOS 4 Sensor with native ISO of 160
  • X-Processor 4 with quad-core CPU
  • UHD 4K/30p video (no F-log present it seems), downsampled from the 6K output (same as the X-T3)
  • 425-point phase-detection autofocus down to EV -3, a claimed 1.5x improvement
  • 0.62x magnification, 2.36-million-dot electronic viewfinder
  • 3.0-inch 1.04-million-dot tilting LCD touchscreen
  • Continuous shooting up to 8 fps and up to 30 fps blackout-free with a 1.25x crop factor and the electronic shutter
  • Pop-up flash
  • 4:2:2 10-bit HDMI output / 4:2:0 8-bit in-camera

  • Bluetooth
  • USB-C connectivity

While the hardware features are impressive, Fuji has also upgraded the already great autofocus abilities (which will be coming to the Fujifilm X-T3 soon in firmware update 4.1). This includes overwhelmingly improved face and eye tracking, as well as supporting smaller faces, from 10 percent of the frame down to 7 percent. There's a brand new "Face Select" feature which can be done by touching the screen or using the AF lever, allowing you to keep track of a specific person in frame and not others. Lastly, they now have improved AF speed even when there is a large gap between near and far subjects, with non-stop phase detection through the focus pull.

A winter landscape shot on the X-T30

While I'm not a fan of Fuji losing the four directional buttons on the back of the camera and instead having just a joystick, menu, and DISP/BACK button, the X-T30 is an amazing deal at $899.95 for the body, $1299.95 with the XF18-55mm f/2.8-4 R Kit, or $999.95 with the XC 15-45mm f/3.6-5.6 OIS PZ Kit. Fuji also has an offer to get $300 in savings if you buy the X-T30 with the XF 23mm f/2.0 R WRXF 35mm f/2.0 R WR, or the XF 50mm f/2.0 R WR.

As someone with an X-T3 already, the newly announced XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR is far more interesting to me. I have the 23mm f/2 currently, but the 16mm f/2.8 is lighter, smaller, wider, and cheaper, which makes it a fantastic walkaround lens to pair with the X-T30 (or any other X-Series camera). The lens can focus as close as 6.6 inches (17 centimeters) and weighs only 155 grams. With 9 rounded aperture blades and 10 elements in 8 groups, this new lens is sure to produce some beautiful images, 

The Fujifilm X-T30 and the XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR will be available on March 20, 2019. Are you planning on getting one? 

Photo by Bryan Minear, provided by Fujifilm.

David J. Fulde's picture

David J. Fulde photographs people. Based in Toronto, ON, he uses bold lighting and vibrant colours to tell people's stories. His work in the film industry lends a cinematic energy to his photographs and makes for an always-colourful studio -- whether he's shooting portraits, fashion, or beauty.

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5 Comments

Wait, so if you buy the X-T30 with the 35mm f/2, you get $300 in savings, meaning you effectively get the lens for $100? Or the other two lenses for $150?

That's a hell of a deal.

Yes, a link to the Fuji deal announcement would be great!

I just bought yesterday the Fuji XH1 and 18-55 lens. I am pumped to jump into the mirrorless world, Only reading the manual now. When I got the battery charged, the body has easy to follow decision tree guides. Just a ton of options. I shot in 16x9 format, wow, loved the look and feel. Don’t do much video , but the camera is going to change this. Go Fuji

firmware, you mean 2.1 which came out on 7th of February right ? I have not seen any update on going up 2 firmware major versions in the fuji pipeline. Typo or do you maybe have a link ? thanks, nice article :)

Update : What i found is this from 2 hours ago :

http://www.fujifilm.com/news/n190214_04.html

Where is there details on the $300 package deal? I am very interested in that.